Hien Voung Restaurant

All in all, a great bargain and a fun little place to grab a bite while shopping at the River Market. Good for you and good for your wallet!

Atmosphere

The restaurant itself is very small, fitting less than 10 tables. This can be a problem when it's cold outside and the door opens and closes often, but we were there on a warm Summer day and the temperature was comfortable. The decor is basic, no frills, a few random decorations on the wall and vinyl covers tablecloths. Silverware, spoons, and condiments, like chili sauce, are on the tables. If there was music playing I did not notice it, which is not always a bad thing.

Service

The service at Hien Vuong was fine- friendly, efficient, and helpful. The only thing we found a little awkward was when the waitress, who also ran our credit card, asked us upfront how much we wanted to tip. I understand some credit card machines do not have the tip space for the customer to fill out, like in Europe. Still, we found this a bit weird.

Food

On this day we ordered my favorite, Vietnamese spring rolls ($4.50), which are basically a chewy rice paper wrap filled with shrimp, rice noodles, carrots, and basil, and served with a sweet peanut dipping sauce. At Hien Vuong there are 3 to an order, all nice and fat. The peanut sauce was good, maybe a little on the thick and sweet side, but still tasty. All in all, still my favorite thing to order- light, fresh, and delicious, and a bargain on top of that.

Now, the specialty here is noodles, rice or egg, which come in a variety of broths and soups (called pho), kind of a gourmet version of ramen noodles, but much better, and sometimes it is hard to choose within the many options, especially since most of the descriptions are similar. I mean, who is to know the difference between 'beef and rice noodles" and "rice noodles with beef"? Really, sometimes you have to just close your eyes and pick. So, that's what we did.

In this case, our choice was #18) Hu Tieu Bo Kho, spicy rice noodles with beef. The bowl was large, heaped with noodles and beef, and it was served with a lovely variety of fresh bean sprouts, peppers, herbs, and lime for you to 'doctor' with. For me, the broth was a little too loaded with chili powder, and not spiced by the fresh chilies which, in my opinion, have a much better flavor, but my boyfriend was happy and ate it all up. The noodles seemed fresh and were cooked perfectly, the dish was steaming hot. At $5.00 for a regular bowl and $6.50 for a large it is a great deal.

Although we did not eat too much on this day, I noticed some other things on the menu which looked interesting such as Do-It-Yourself-Spring Rolls for 2, served only after 5pm ($26.96) which sounds like a plate of heavenly fun to me! Also, there are several fun drink options such as Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, served hot or cold, soy milk, and club s Soda Sua Hot Ga, what sounded to me like a Vietnamese version of a New York egg cream, made with oda, condensed milk, and egg. yum! Hien Vuong does not serve alcohol.

Cleanliness

Everything seems clean enough. The bathrooms were adequate.

Pros

A small, convenient restaurant that serves good food at good prices. The same price as fast food, but so much better!